


Research Token

by PolarGrizz47



Series: Darkness in the Light [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Ascendant Plane, Bothering Asher again, Drifter is the sketchy big bro we all need tbh, Gift Giving, Void Crystallization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 13:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15950804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarGrizz47/pseuds/PolarGrizz47
Summary: Adrian and Evelyn had been delighted to find little trinkets, adding it to their collection of rarities and objects to be hot-fixed.Though, this time, they found something old and interesting. It was a chunk of Vex, the creamy center, but it was sturdy and pulsing. It was alive but without a body.





	Research Token

**Author's Note:**

> This won't fully fit the Lore since we don't know everything about the Drifter, but he's gotta get those damn Primevals somewhere -- so I imagine he visits the ascendant plane.

It was not unusual for the light to react negatively around Adrian. He usually avoided it, the places that oozed it and the Guardian’s that excuded it too brightly.

The Drifter was a strange but welcome companion for the weary Hunter. He was rouge too, in a sense, even if he still was guided in light.

His light was different, darker somehow. Like those motes he was so obsessed with.

Adrian knew that the Drifter had spent too much time in the ascendent plane, lost in the dark ages, enjoying his self-appointed duties of hunting and trapping Primeval. So much time, in fact, that returning to the surface for air seemed to bother him. He often complained restlessly as they relished in their victory over their recent excursions. Once they settled and got cleaned up, the Drifter would mellow, but his hopes were still eagerly set on another trip soon, despite how successful they had been this time.

Twelve Primevals in the bank. Locked tight in motes, ready to be unleashed when Drifter deemed it fitting.

It was grueling work, but Adrian enjoyed it. He never complained. There was plenty of things to kill and the Void’s whispers in his mind were softer, less demanding. The bloodshed sated all of them, if only for a little while.

They sat in the large command center of the Derelict, lounging around as they examined their recent haul. The ascendent plane always bore some strange fruits, transcending time and space, the barriers between dimensions was thin. Often, they fought normal Vex, Cabal and Fallen. Occasionally, Hive. Creatures who fell into the plane, lost and waiting to be transformed or slaughtered.

Adrian and Evelyn had been delighted to find little trinkets, adding it to their collection of rarities and objects to be hot-fixed.

Though, this time, they found something old and interesting. It was a chunk of Vex, the creamy center, but it was sturdy and pulsing. It was alive but without a body. It was fascinating and the Hunter sat in the co-pilot seat while toying with it.

Drifter sighed out deeply as he plopped down into the seat beside Adrian, hair still damp and beard freshly trimmed to its usual length. He looked towards the younger man with a raised brow, dark eyes landing on the Vex object.

“Still playing with that thing, kid?” He mumbled, rubbing at his jaw as he produced a mote out of the pocket of his jacket.

Adrian blinked at him, nodding once at his current companion. It was strange seeing him dressed down after spending years and years in the depths of battle, where they wore their armor like a second skin, unflinching from the grim and the sweat and the blood. They repaired it on the go, Drifter had a skill for the technical parts while Adrian was well-versed in scavenging for parts and making it work.

The Void’s realm had taught him that much.

His main armor still proudly bore the bones of the beasts he had slain there, something that always drew attention and questions. Their skulls and bones were not normal, charged still with the energy of the Void.

“And let me guess,” The Drifter ran his thumb over the mote softly, the glow reflecting in his gaze. “You wanna go to Io?”

Evelyn phased out of Adrian’s chest, floating comfortably by Drifter’s own, buzzing Ghost. “We would appreciate that,” She says, looking at her Hunter with a happy blink. “If we’ve got the time for it.”

“Eh, been meaning to cross the system anyways. Look for fresh hunting ground, maybe even collect some Cabal,” Drifter set the mote on the dash of the ship and keyed in a new location, listening as the Derelict’s engines hummed to life.

Adrian stayed seated, hands poking and stretching at the Vex core. It was somewhat malleable, like semi-melted amber, though it always slowly oozed back into its usual, cylindrical shape.

It was fascinating and way over all their heads. Drifter, in all his years and all his kills, knew a fair amount about every race. Even some races that Adrian had never fought before - the ones that almost thrilled him as much as a beast from the Void realm.

He often found himself missing the challenge they possessed.

As the ship gained speed and jumped, Adrian watched the stars fly by like smears of paint, his green eyes taking in every detail. He turned his head as he heard the familiar sound of knuckles against metal, finding Drifter toying with one of his green tokens. He had many of them, everywhere, and anywhere on his person. They changed and flowed, Adrian had seen it with his own two eyes - like magic.

They’d gamble, of course, across the system with those little beauties. But the tokens only seemed to listen to Drifter’s touches.

Adrian had been allowed to explore a handful of them. He even kept two without asking, although he knew that Drifter knew, too. The older Guardian never said anything about those stolen tokens, either. The man was quite good at keeping to himself, even if he itched to ask questions. He’d only ask one if Adrian and Evelyn asked one, the group exchanging secrets and information that would stay between them and them only.

He could feel Drifter staring at him, but he didn’t find any harm in it. He already knew what the rouge was examining from afar, his right arm.

The Void energy had crystalized over his fingertips, forming artificial claws and shiny skin. His normal hand was entrapped in it, like a glove of armor, strong and sturdy. It had taken Adrian a fair amount of time to wiggle out of his usual gauntlets with his arm so consumed by it, almost up to his elbow this time. The crystal on his clothes had flaked away, but it would stay stained onto his skin for a long, long while. 

He wondered if the Drifter had called it quits for his sake, for fear of watching his current companion turn to crystal.

Adrian tapped his fingers against the artifact and listened to the Void crystal ring out hollowly, a tune that was low and deep, fading quickly in the cabin. It vibrated against his skin and sent all sorts of ancient whispers clawing at the back of his mind.

The voices never scared them though, merely intrigued the Void stained duo.

Evelyn was calm and quiet, curled up on Adrian’s shoulder, snuggling into his hood with a soft humming. Her song was the only sound in the ship, other than Drifter’s occasionally grumbling and the Derelict’s mechanic complaints. Adrian found his eyes beginning to get heavy, but he simply clutched to the Vex artifact and stared at the stars.

-:-

He’d fallen asleep again, curled up in the chair and still holding the intended gift gently. Adrian woke with a silent, big yawn and a stretch of his legs. A few blinks revealed that he’d been covered in one of his preferred blankets, beat up and tattered but still warm, woven from wool and dyed with age, splotchy grays and dusty reds.

Evelyn rose from his throat as the Hunter stirred, adjusting her shell with a bright glow of purple that faded as they woke fully up. “We’re getting close,” She said, glancing towards the main pilot seat and finding it empty.

Adrian shoved the Vex piece into the pocket of his hoodie, shrugging off the blanket and folding it neatly into the seat before he stalked into the main belly of the ship. He easily found Drifter lounging on a beaten up, plush seat. He had an empty bowl by his side and a series of small tools in his hands. He was toying with a new mechanism, something that only he could imagine. In front of him was a small screen with a clear image, depicting a current Crucible match. It was muted, though. The Drifter preferred to work in silence.

Evelyn looked at them, making brief eye contact with the rogue’s Ghost as they crept towards the makeshift kitchen. Adrian often forgot about how hungry their trips left him, even if Evelyn could sustain him with Void energy, sometimes nothing could beat a nice strip of jerky. He’d forgotten what kind of creature Drifter had dried out, but it tasted amply better than the Void beasts. Adrian never complained either way.

With a handful of jerky, the Hunter silently made his way back over the main lounge, barefooted. He stood behind Drifter and peered over his shoulder, watching as he worked with the delicate mechanism. Patiently, he waited to take another bite until the man had set the project down briefly.

Evelyn floated above the rouge and asked, “What’cha working on?”

“For the love of --” Drifter jumped in his seat, clutching at his tools with an accusing glare over his shoulder. “One of these days, I’m gonna get you a bell to wear around the ship. You’re too damn sneaky.” He relaxed some, “Not that I don’t like that, you are a Hunter after all, but still. I’m getting old.”

“We know,” Evelyn teased, floating down to scan his new project. “We are curious, though.”

“Oh,” He gathered up his tools and picked up the frightfully tiny mechanism, held delicately between his forefinger and thumb. “Spring trap, for a mote.”

“Mhm,” She didn’t understand what he was envisioning. Maybe a way to throw a mote into an area to release a Primeval? Maybe something to place and use as a trap? There were endless possibilities.

Adrian chewed away at the dried meat, his gaze on the crucible match boredly. Guardians always felt like they were the heroes, showing off for their peers and the people of the Last City. If only they could see what Drifter and him did for fun in the far reaches of the system.

With his right hand, he tapped at the Vex artifact and hoped that his old friend would appreciate the gesture.

-:-

“If any Vanguard shows up, gimme a call,” Drifter reminds as they ready Adrian’s personal, smaller ship. “And don’t start any trouble. Don’t give me that look, remember that time at the bar? Yeah,” He watched as Adrian pulled up his hood and adjusted the clasps of his leather boots. “Remember, we got some Cabal to find, too.”

Evelyn nodded, starting up the ship’s engines before looking back towards Drifter, “Thanks mom, we’ll be home before eight.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Drifter laughed as the two phased into the ship, waving them off as they exited the dock and approached Io. As he walked away from the landing platform, he turned his head towards his buzzing Ghost and muttered, “You know, one of these days, they’re gonna go down there and that old Scribe is going to be dead. Not looking forward to that.”

-:-

As usual, Asher was alone. He was seated, however, slouched over his workstation all the same.

Adrian kept his right hand subtly hidden in his large cloak, holding his gift in the left. They approached with a chirp from Evelyn, and Asher lifted his head quickly at the sound.

He looked terrible. Tired, pale and sweaty. His hair was messier, longer. There were dark, ugly circles under his bloodshot eyes. The Vex transformation was winning, just as they had feared.

Despite how his gut sank, Adrian tried his best to shut his heart to it. They knew that this was the most likely outcome, after all.

“What are you doing here?!” Asher sputtered only after he’d double checked that his comm was muted. “You are outlawed by the Vanguard after what you did --”

“We did nothing - Zavala hurt us. We just fled,” Evelyn reminded, floating closer to the scientist to look him over. “You look like shit.”

Asher waved her off with a grunt of indignation. “ _Irrelevant_. What is relevant is this: why did you come back? To Io of all places?”

Adrian proudly held out the Vex artifact, enjoying how Asher’s eyes settled onto the milky glow. He urged the man silently, waving his hand closer, pointedly shoving the gift into the bewildered Scribe’s chest.

“We thought you’d like this. We found it in the ascendent plane!” Evelyn happily announces, circling them all before she returned to Adrian’s cloak, settling into his throat.

Asher took the cylindrical shape with a grunt of surprise, brows raised. “This is -- very strange, indeed,” He turned it over in his grip before swallowing, strangely touched by the odd gift, even if it was a little late to help. The transformation had already overcome one lung and was creeping ever closer to his heart and up his throat.

The Scribe cleared his throat and set the thing delicately on his station. “I’ll start running preliminary scans on this soon - and share whatever I can garnish from it.” He coughed and looked over at Adrian with a raised brow.

The Hunter’s posture was all wrong, half concealed. His left arm hanging free while his right was tucked up into the cloak like a broken wing. Asher’s gaze narrowed.

“Adrian, what have you done now?” He said, voice erring on warning even if he was only asking a question.

Evelyn blinked and Adrian pointedly looked at the ground, shrugged.

“Let me see,” Asher snapped, impatient and grumpy.

The man thinned his lips, green eyes still downcast guiltily. He slowly unfolded his right arm, barring it to the bright light of Io. The Void crystal glowed under the shine of the atmosphere and Asher made a choked, angry sound.

“What have you gone and done this time?!” He muttered, reaching a hand out and brazenly pulling Adrian closer by the wrist. He was shocked to find that the Void crystal was cold and biting against his skin as if it was alive and vicious.

Asher released him quickly, but Adrian kept his hand held out, showing off the extent of the temporary changes. He curled his fingers and then flexed them, the Void claws glinting brightly. Asher was sure that the Hunter could cut or at least damage anything, even the toughest man-made steels that they could find from the Golden Age.

“What did I tell you?” He hissed, poking accusingly at Adrian’s arm. “You need to relax, or you’ll end up like _me._ ”

“The Void won’t make us into a Vex,” Evelyn said, voice light and cheerful despite the way Asher’s belly writhed with worry.

“Yes, I’m well aware…” The scientist gritted his teeth and sighed. “I would hate to see you in a museum on display. Turned to crystal due to your own foolish blood-lust.”

“A Hunter must hunt,” The Ghost remarked, her purple eye flashing softly. “We think Zavala might want us in a museum anyways.”

“The Vanguard wants your head,” Asher muttered under his breath, looking at Adrian with a frown. Those green eyes merely blinked at him, shining with exitement. The scientist sighed and looked back towards the artifact that now sat innoncently at his work station. “Regardless… Your gift will prove useful for my study.”

It was as close to ‘thank you’ that Adrian would ever get, and he beamed a wide, honest smile at the old Warlock. Asher turned his head away, fussing with his equipment.

Adrian may have only been imagining it, but he could’ve sworn that he saw a smile grace the old, tired features of the Scribe.

The Hunter resumed his usual lookout upon the old bones above Asher, listening to the world around him and enjoying the sun on his skin. He even enjoyed the old man’s complaining below him as he fiddled with the ancient relic, trying to unlock its secrets. Time passed steadily that way, the two falling into a comfortable silence as Adrian ran his fingers over the old carvings that he’d left there years before.

As he glances down at Asher, at the Vex transformation that has grown since their last visit, he is reminded of how fleeting time is, even to Guardians.

**Author's Note:**

> Adrian reflecting on time and the fragility of life even as the Void has taught him of all the brutal sharp edges of survival. 
> 
> Also, Drifter unofficially becomes Adrian's big, sketchy bro. What better way to compliment Adrian's Void gifts than with a sketchy, Darkness obsessed Guardian?!


End file.
